OUR SPECIALITY

SOuLe is an ordinary but affordable pair of white canvas shoes for the giver and receiver at $29.90. Watch this space for more designs.

THE INNOVATION

“Buy one, get one free!” Does that sound familiar to you? The concept of Selfless Shoes works in a similar way only this time, it’s “buy one, give one free”. For every pair of Selfless Shoes, a less fortunate child gets saved from sole up – relieved from walking around barefooted for miles to get water or daily essentials.

In this twist of innovation, Selfless Shoes adapts Singaporean Kiasuism to better the world. By buying a pair of shoes which you will probably need for school at an ordinary value, another pair will be given to someone who will value them so much more.

By setting up a social enterprise instead of organizing fundraisers, Selfless Shoe hopes to ensure a constant stream of income to buy shoes for the poor, and by manufacturing the shoes on their own, it ensures the quality of its shoes too.

BRIEF BACKGROUND

Selfless Shoes started as a casual idea discussed between three good friends, Justine, John and Jingying, all of whom are students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic. On a mission trip to China, they saw for themselves the plight of the soleless children and decided to do something about it.

“It’s not like in Singapore where our flooring is still considered okay. They are in the mountains, it is very dangerous when they get cuts. Infections from the dirt and grime might lead to more severe diseases or even death,” said Justine, who has made a number of trips down to China.

Together, they then joined the Mayor’s Imagine Social Entrepreneurship (MISE) competition and won second place. Most importantly, a sizable seed funding of $25,000 was won and enable them to turn their business idea into reality. Their sole beneficiary are so far needy students from the We Love Learning (WELL) nurture program, set up by the Community Development Councils (CDC) – one of the few criteria for the funding.

For now, the three students are taking a small step forward laying their foundations for the social enterprise – seeking out manufacturers for their shoes, collecting designs from friends and accepting online pre-orders for the shoes – and resisting the temptation to get carried away with all the big ideas they have in mind.